Teachers: Paige Campbell and Vin Gingery

Theme: Bridging Communities

In 5th Grade, students bridge the Hillbrook community with the greater Santa Clara County through their service to the San Jose Family Shelter. Students first tour the San Jose Family Shelter, learn about its programs, and do some hands-on volunteering on site. Then, students help plan and lead a gift card drive by making announcements at flag raising and in classrooms, posting flyers on campus, collecting donations periodically, and delivering the donations to the organizations. The Excel spreadsheets that students create to track the gift card quantities and denominations are given to the shelter with the gift card donations. 5th graders also have embarked on a Ross Creek restoration project involving the removal of invasive species, planting native species, and establishing irrigation along 75 linear feet of creek between the bridge and the culvert on Hillbrook’s campus.